Saturday 29 October 2022

Celebrating the Coronation of His Majesty King MisuZulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini

 

Homily at the Celebration of the Coronation of His Majesty

King MisuZulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini

as King of the Zulu Nation

Moses Mabhida Stadium: Durban

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop of Cape Town

29th October 2022 @10h00

Reading: Psalm 84



May I speak in the name of God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of our lives. Amen



Your Majesty, King MisuZulu;

Your Excellency President Ramaphosa;

Your Majesty the King of Eswatini;

Honourable Prince Buthelezi;

Your Majesties and Royal Highnesses, members of other Royal families;

Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Programme Directors;

Government Ministers and Officials;

The many Religious Leaders here present;

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:



I am honoured to join you to share in this historic event. Thank you for inviting me today. I am also privileged to be joined here by Bishop Nkosinathi Ndwandwe of this Diocese of Natal, Bishop Vikinduku Mnculwane of Zululand and the Royal Chaplain, Archdeacon Bongani Mhlongo. A warm welcome to all and, most importantly, thank you to the organising committee and also to those who gave of their time and were involved in the preparation for today.

I thank God for the unsung heroes and heroines who have kept the Gospel light burning here and throughout their lives, their zeal, their prayers and their service and witness. I especially thank God for his faithfulness to all who have made it possible for this celebration of Your Majesty's coronation to take place today. Our gratitude to God for his sustaining care for you, particularly during the turbulent times of the past, and for affording you this time of great hope and opportunity, even though of course it comes with challenges.

In our reading today, the Psalmist gives us a picture of a pilgrim newly-arrived at the Temple in Jerusalem. After a long journey of eager anticipation, the pilgrim is now admiring the beauty of the Lord's house. The Psalmist is impressed first by the loveliness of the Temple, then – seeing even the tiny birds making themselves at home – he appreciates the safety offered by that house. So he associates the Temple with how the Lord provides for us places of sacrifice for sin, reconciliation and communion with God. As one translation says, “My heart and my body cry out for joy, to the living God.”

So sisters and brothers, today we too can cry out for joy in celebration of this important milestone in the history of the Zulu Kingdom. Your Majesty, we are grateful for the close relations between the Anglican Church and amaZulu going back into the 19th century, recognising with shame instances where sound cultural traditions were undermined but also proud of the role those such as the Colenso family played in defending their Majesties Kings Cetshwayo and Dinizulu. We recall too the Anglican antecedents of King Dinizulu and of King Solomon, and of how your grandfather, a good Anglican himself, built houses for worship, for which we remain deeply grateful.

Your father, His Majesty King Zwelithini, was also a great and faithful member of our church who not only attended worship but also held up his faith in the Lord as a moral compass for many until his last breath. It was a great privilege for me to be invited to play a role in his burial. Prince Buthelezi, we also recognise your long service as a faithful Christian who has been blessed with a long life and remains actively involved as a support system to the Royal Family. Prince Buthelezi, as you approach the time when you will be called home, we appeal for that to happen in a spirit of reconciliation and healing.

Your Majesty, you too can build and leave a powerful legacy of your own. Your grandmother was a person who stood tall in society; it does not matter that you are called to this high office, with its onerous responsibilities, when you are young. You too can grow and become tall in the eyes of the Zulu nation, the South African nation and the world. We are saddened by the recent dissension within the Royal Family, for it does not build but detracts from the legacy that King Zwelithini left behind. It is my humble prayer that in the near future you may be able to find each other and reconcile.

Reconciliation is very critical. Our church recognises that for reconciliation, which God wants to see happen, there needs to be both justice and accountability. Thus in the Church we have called for the historic legacy of colonialism to be deconstructed and any remaining complicity of our member churches in British and American empires to be ended.

But God's call for reconciliation is a challenge not only to the Royal Family and the Church: it is a challenge to us all. And for reconciliation to be achieved in our divided society in South Africa today, there needs to be both justice and accountability, the achievement of which is the responsibility of all, including both traditional and elected leaders.

Mr President, we are grateful for your steadfast focus on rooting out state capture from the public and private sectors, and the faith community pledges its strong support for your latest initiatives. But, Mr President, no one will be more aware than yourself of how public trust in government has been corroded by leaders who have elevated the pursuit of private profit above ethical public service in the past decade.

In this Province and nationally, can we say that justice and accountability are served when mafias in the taxi and construction industries hold legitimate business people to ransom, closing down their operations and even killing their staff if they refuse to pay protection money?

Can we say, Mr President, that justice and accountability are served when the State fails to bring to justice all those responsible for the killing of Abahlali baseMjondolo.

Both nationally and in this Province, Mr President, can we say that justice and accountability are served when migrants from elsewhere in Africa are scapegoated for just being here?

In the private sector, can we say that justice and accountability are served when the intergenerational inequality of the apartheid era continues, when the sons and daughters of the wealthy flourish, while the sons and daughters of the poor are caught in a self-perpetuating spiral of inadequate education, denied opportunities and poverty?

Your Majesty and Mr President, as I end, the basic consensus which has underpinned our nation since 1994 is crumbling. Levels of distrust are higher than ever before. Confidence in leaders, whether in the public or private sector, is at a record low. Is it not time for all of us – traditional leaders, political leaders, civil society, religious leaders, leaders in the economy representing both capital and labour – for all of us to come together to convene consultations – culminating in a National Indaba – as a way of growing up as a nation and beginning to heal a society characterised by fear and a damaged psyche?

Your Majesty, as you embark upon your reign as King of a nation that is recognised internationally as one of the greatest in Africa, I believe you are being called upon to step up and emulate the highest traditions of your ancestors. I pray that you will summon the resources of our faith and allow God to help you fulfill this honourable calling.

May God bless you richly, Your Majesty. God bless you, Mr President, and your Cabinet and all the leaders of our nation. God bless the Royal Family. God bless South Africa, her leaders and all her people.

Amen.



Friday 21 October 2022

To the Laos - To the People of God - October 2022

 Dear People of God,

In a visit to ACSA's Provincial residential college and in deliberations at the Synod of Bishops and the Provincial Standing Committee (PSC), a good deal of attention was given this past month to the vital issue of theological education for our clergy and people.

In Makhanda, I joined leaders in theological education to install the Revd Dr Percy Chinganga as Rector of the College of the Transfiguration (CoTT). We warmly congratulate him on his appointment, confident that the education of our ordinands is in good hands with him and his staff. His installation came soon after the annual September Provincial meetings, where we discussed a major report on the future of theological education, drawn up by a commission convened by the Revd Dr Barney Pityana. As I told PSC, the body which represents clergy and lay representatives as well as bishops from all ACSA's Dioceses, theological education and formation are not optional extras for the church: they are our lifeblood, and they matter not just for our future as an institution but for the welfare of God's people as we go out to proclaim the love and the justice of God in our suffering world.

I want to promote sound theological formation not just for our clergy but also for lay Anglicans. A wonderful way of doing this would be to enroll at CoTT, even if you don't want to enter the ordained ministry, and I invite those of you who want to improve their theological knowledge to explore studying there full-time. As I suggested at the Diocese of Cape Town's clergy school last week, my dream is that our parishes and homes will become institutions of teaching and learning, as well as places of prayer and worship, in your communities. I urge you to take steps to offer education of various kinds – including theological education – for all our people. And please consider supporting CoTT individually and through your parishes and Dioceses – it is playing a vital role.

Also recently, I attended the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture on what would have been the 91st birthday of our late Archbishop Emeritus. The lecture featured Amina Mohammed, a Nigerian who is the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, and Doug Abrams, the American author who worked with Archbishop Desmond and the Dalai Lama to create The Book of Joy, and who brought us an inspiring message of hope. At the CoTT installation, I continued the commemoration of Archbishop Desmond's birth by delivering our first Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Memorial Lecture, where I stressed that we are still called and sent to carry out a prophetic ministry in the world today. As we held these events, we remembered warmly and sent our love to Mrs Nomalizo Leah Tutu, who has just turned 89! A belated Happy Birthday, Mama Leah!

In the ACSA memorial lecture, I said we still need to warn our governments that they are accountable, nowadays accountable to the people but also to God. I spoke out strongly against those in power who enrich themselves with tenders which they fail to deliver on, and warned opposition parties hoping to come to power soon that they too will experience the temptations of power. I also condemned the new “mafias” which we are seeing in the construction, mining and taxi industries, which are demanding protection money for allowing legitimate businesses to operate. If we continue down this road, I said, with police, municipal and national governments turning a blind eye, too cowardly to act, we will end up a failed state.

As I write, I have been on an inspirational visit to Rome with ecumenical colleagues to engage in dialogues aimed at ensuring that the mining industry internationally conducts its operations in a way that respects the integrity of the earth and takes care of people and communities. I am grateful to Cardinal Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, for his wisdom and the generous offering of his time, and to Archbishop Ian Ernest at the Anglican Centre in Rome, as well as their teams.

In conclusion, I am very pleased to confirm that Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury will be with us in Cape Town at the end of November, where he will join the final meeting of the Design Team which planned the 2022 Lambeth Conference. We will also welcome him publicly at Evensong in St George's Cathedral at 4 pm on Thursday November 24th.

God bless,

††Thabo Cape Town

Wednesday 12 October 2022

Address to Diocese of Cape Town clergy school 2022

 Diocese of Cape Town Clergy School 2022

Opening Address by

The Most Revd Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop of Cape Town

11th to 14th October 2022


Matthew 28: 18 -20


May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bishop Joshua, Clergy of the diocese and invited guests, I'm grateful to be able to join you in this way from Makhanda, where earlier this afternoon I was installing the next Rector of our only residential college, Dr Percy Chinganga. I would have loved to be with you in person, but doing so online is better than not at all.

Tuesday 11 October 2022

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Memorial Lecture and Installation of CoTT Rector

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Memorial Lecture

and Installation of the Rector

 College of the Transfiguration

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba

Archbishop of Cape Town

The Cathedral of St Michael and St George: Makhanda

11th October 2022 @15h00

Jeremiah 36: 27 -37:2; Psalm 35; Luke 8: 40 -56


Fellow theologians (all of us here are theologians, no matter how far along the journey we are);

Fellow students of the Gospel (because all of us, no matter how well qualified, remain students all our lives);

Sisters and brothers in Christ: